Mexico confirms 403 new cases of COVID-19 and 39 deaths in 24-hours

In Mexico, the number of cases of people infected with COVID-19 increased to 3,844 confirmed patients, reported the Ministry of Health (SSa). The death toll rose to 233.

José Luis Alomía, general director of Epidemiology, reported that there are 10,300 suspected cases in the country, 19,749 negative, and a total of 33,893 people studied. In the past day, 403 positive cases and 39 deaths were recorded.

The national incidence rate of confirmed cases by state is 3 per 100,000 inhabitants. The highest rate is found in Mexico City with 11.53 and the second in Baja California Sur with 10.56. The smallest in the whole country is in Chiapas: 0.66.

While the group of 30 to 34 years has the most outpatient cases, only from 65 years of age hospitalized cases are greater than those for outpatients. Therefore, older adults are more likely to develop a serious disease that requires hospitalization and follow-up.

The cases confirmed in the country are: 68.29% in ambulatory status and in-home isolation, 10.33% of stable hospitalized, 17.56% seriously hospitalized, and 3.82% intubated hospitalized.

Of the 3,844 confirmed cases as of April 10, 52% remain in isolation, 42% are recovered, and 6% deaths.

The 233 people who died had the following associations related to comorbidity: hypertension (42.06%), diabetes (38.20%), obesity (35.62%), and to a lesser extent smoking (10.30%), chronic kidney failure (7.73%) , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (7.73%), cardiovascular disease (5.58%), immunosuppression (4.72%), asthma (3%), and HIV or AIDS (0.43%).

Alomia presented a new table related to “the risks of complication and death in relation to age.” Cases and deaths were divided by age group: under 25 with 0 deaths, people between 25 and 59 years, and over 60 years. The case fatality rate in this last group is 13.3 per 100 cases, three times more than the other groups.

“If you are part of any group at risk of comorbidity or are part of groups over 60 years of age, the recommendation is to take shelter, stay at home, and the families of these people to form a protective and daily aid fence for these people while the greatest burden of the epidemic lasts,” said the director-general of Epidemiology.

The lethality by state in the country, for every 100 cases, is 6.06: while most of the positive deaths remain in Mexico City, Sinaloa, Baja California, and the State of Mexico, Durango has the highest rate of lethality with 25, followed by Chihuahua with 22.22.

The mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants in the country is 0.18: the highest rates are found in the states of Quintana Roo and Sinaloa, with 0.75 and 0.57, respectively.

Starting this Thursday, the federal government began distributing just over half a million tests to detect coronavirus infections in the country. According to the information published by the Reforma newspaper, 300,000 began to be distributed and 260,000 will be distributed in a second stage.

The undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion, Hugo López-Gatell, presented an estimate of total cases: there could be 26,519 in the entire country today, eight times more than those that have been confirmed. The calculation was made using so-called sentinel surveillance, which was also used during the H1N1 influenza crisis.

Mexico City’s Mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum, asked citizens to wear face masks whenever they go out, this in order to reduce the cases of contagion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sheinbaum said that although it is not a mandatory measure, it is highly recommended to use the face mask in order to reduce contagion in high-traffic areas and public transport, where the risk of contagion is very high.

Given this, the Ministry of Economic Development (Sedeco) may provide an investment to give masks at the time of entering high-risk areas and information will be issued to publicize how to treat disposable masks to prevent them from becoming a source of infection.